Borrowing a riff from James Brown's backing band the JB's on Pick it Up, Weller sashays between funk-laden groove, crooning balladry and foot-to-the-floor rock that references the mainstays of his career thus far.
Making full use of some prominent musician mates in the studio, Saturns Pattern is easily as good as, if not better than, anything that he has released in the past decade.
Weller's celestial muse is burning bright with no hint of fading away.
• Paul Weller. Saturns Pattern. Warner Bros. Records.
• Four and a half stars (out of five)
Single Download: These City Streets
- Mark Orton
